Apple pulled Telegram from the global App Store on Aug. 4, 2026, after a review found that a user had shared child sexual abuse material through the app, the company confirmed. GRAM, the token tied to Telegram’s TON network, fell 7%, reaching $1.31, before recovering as the news spread. Apple said the app was restored the same day after Telegram removed the content and banned the user responsible.
How the Removal and Restoration Played Out
Apple’s takedown left Telegram missing from App Store search results worldwide for several hours before access returned. An Apple spokesperson said the review found content that violated the company’s guidelines against child sexual abuse material, according to Mark Gurman’s X post, and that the app was restored once Telegram acted.
Telegram, which counts more than a billion monthly active users, says it has removed nearly 338,000 groups and channels for this kind of content so far this year. The removal echoes a similar incident in 2018, when Apple briefly pulled Telegram over what founder Pavel Durov called “inappropriate content” at the time, restoring it after the app added new safeguards.
Telegram has faced other pressure recently too. In April, Ofcom opened a formal investigation into Telegram under the UK’s Online Safety Act, examining whether the platform is meeting its legal duty to prevent the spread of CSAM, according to Ofcom’s announcement. The regulator can levy fines up to 10% of global revenue and, in the most severe cases, seek a court order blocking a service in the UK entirely.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney questioned whether the same standard would hold up against a large platform like Apple’s own iMessage. Telegram pushed back on X over the removal, and separately said it “categorically denies” Ofcom’s accusations, pointing to its detection algorithms and work with child-safety groups since 2018.
What This Means for GRAM holders
GRAM, the token formerly known as TON before Telegram rebranded it, recovered most of its losses within hours as the app came back online, but the swing shows how tightly its price is tied to Telegram’s platform status rather than its own fundamentals.
Holders should expect similar volatility any time Telegram’s App Store standing comes into question, even when the underlying issue gets resolved within hours. Track other crypto assets alongside today’s headlines on our crypto news hub.
What to Watch Next
Apple’s swift restoration of Telegram suggests the issue was resolved quickly after the platform removed the violating content and banned the responsible user. However, the incident shows that even brief App Store enforcement actions can trigger sharp swings in GRAM’s price, making any future updates from Apple or Telegram on content moderation and platform availability worth monitoring.
What this means for you: If you hold GRAM or use Telegram regularly, know that the app was never permanently removed from the App Store. Apple briefly suspended the listing on Aug. 4 and restored it within hours, blocking only new downloads and updates on iOS in the meantime, so anyone who already had Telegram installed kept full access, and the bigger risk right now is price volatility tied to headlines rather than any lasting loss of access.
